


Detroit Requiem

by Cressele



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Android Fugo, Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), Fugo is deadpan but goes wild, Fugonara - Freeform, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Vento Aureo, La Squadra owns a grocery store as a front for helping deviant androids, M/M, Narancia is a sweetheart, Narancia's father is normally just neglectful but red ice makes people violent, Robot Fugo, There is cusses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:00:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24435508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cressele/pseuds/Cressele
Summary: Tutor Android model PH025's moments with his student, as he slowly learns the world isn't fair to kind people. (Based on Kara's story but obviously changed up)
Relationships: Pannacotta Fugo/Narancia Ghirga
Comments: 7
Kudos: 88
Collections: More Jojo AUs Than We Can Chew





	1. Chapter 1

With newer tutor models being made, the remaining unused PH025 models were being pushed out at cheaper prices. Even with the protests, with the unemployment rate being as high as it is, it was decided that a majority of them would be bought with taxpayer dollars and used to teach the more ‘troubled’ youth.

This particular PH025 was following a delivery woman to a house out of the van with other dead faced androids, in the bad part of town.

“Mr. Ghirga?”

“That’s me. This is the new android, right? I forgot that was today. Sorry to keep you waiting,” A tanned man said, putting on a smile for the woman.

“I’m sure it’ll help out with your kid! I usually come up to help you get set up. The terminology is kind of weird if you don’t read the manual. PH025, register new residence.” She said cheerily, pulling up her electronic keyboard to scribble she had finished the delivery. She glanced at his LED, and saw it light up yellow, signing he had successfully processed the information. She smiled a little wider. “It’s all yours! Have a nice day.” She jogged down the sidewalk back to the truck, and was off.

“Yeah, thanks.” The man said, turning to focus on the android. “Basically, just clean the house, take out the garbage and do the laundry, basically stupid house chores and I won’t have to fuckin' talk with you.” He said, looking PH025 up and down for the first time since the woman left. “Oh. And whatever you’re supposed to do with the kid.” Mr. Ghirga said, seemingly only just remembering what he was supposed to be there for in the first place.

“I understand. Thank you for the clarification.” PH025 said, nodding quickly and following him inside.

“You don’t have to listen to what he says. Kid would end up making you lick a toilet, cut off your hand, or some other dumb shit like that. Listen to me and do whatever else you need to do.”

“I understand. Thank you for the clarification,”

“Shut up,” he said, lip curling. “Can’t even pretend to be a fucking person, huh? Whatever. The kid is upstairs.”

The android nodded, scanning through the house and looking at the mess. Picking all those cans and garbage up would come later. First order of business would be learning the name of the student and surveying what they struggle with. He turned to the stairs and headed up.

As he made his way to the top, music was playing loudly in a different room. The stairs creaked as he stepped, and the music got quiet as he progressed.

The PH025 looked at the door, glancing up and down at the blank door and shuffling noises inside. The music was still playing softly, quiet enough where a normal organic person wouldn’t hear it walking past. He knocked lightly, blinking at the squeaking noise as the music was smacked until shut off, successfully muted.

“Hello? This is your new android tutor, Model PH025. I’m here for your first lesson.”

“Oh fucking damn it-“ the student muttered to himself, getting up to open the door for him. Taking that as permission to go inside, the android wriggled the doorknob and found it impossible to open.

There wasn’t a lock, so how was it closed? The PH025 was looking at the knob as the door opened a crack.

“Woah. Ah,” The android looked up to see a violet eye staring at him through the crack. “I’ve never seen one so close. You look so real... that’s freaky as hell.” The student opened the door a little more, trying to get a better look at him.

“It’s nice to meet you. What should I call you?”

“My name is Narancia.” The teen eyed him, pursing his lips in thought before he decided to give whatever he was thinking a shot. “Listen, I’m not really in the mood to do anything today. Just go somewhere else to do something, okay, robohead?”

“Sorry, but I cannot. We have a lot to do today. I need to survey you to learn what level you’re at, so we can even get started with classes. You still have to register a name.”

Narancias face split into a mischievous grin. “I have to name you? How about this: I’ll make up a really stupid name if you don’t leave me alone. I already told you I don’t want to do anything with you. The school said I needed you, but it’s not like I even need class in the first place.” He put a hand on his hip, looking a bit more bitter after thinking about school.

“Sorry, but I cannot.” He said simply. “I was given the order not to listen to requests like that. Would you like to start with math, or history today?”

“You asked for it, man, I’m not bluffing! I’m gonna name you...” Narancia looked around his room, glancing at a bakery menu he seemingly had ordered a dish from the other day. “Pannacotta!”

“Panna Cotta- do you mean the cake?”

“Yeah! I’m gonna name you after a damn cake if you don’t let me skip. Come on, even you have to know that’s bad.” He was frowning, eyebrows pushed together in annoyance.

“We are doing school today and that’s final. Register name as Pannacotta?”

Narancia seethed, glaring at him, before taking a shaky breath, and slammed the door in his face.

\------

It was around noon, and Pannacotta was cleaning up leftovers of takeout Mr.Ghirga had brought home. There was a cup of soup left, where the man had spat it out, saying they changed the recipe.

“Mr.Ghirga?” Pannacotta asked tentatively, careful to not step in front of the tv.

“What? I told you not to bother me.” The man sneered, not even looking up from the screen. He seemed to be watching a rerun of a game from earlier in the week.

“Sorry, sir. If you’re not going to eat this, can I prepare the leftovers for my student?”

“I don’t give a shit! It’s garbage to me.” He sneered, prying open the cap of a beer. He usually drank at least one after a filling meal from what Pannacotta could gather, and so far had always stayed coherent. The smoking was far more frequent.

Pannacotta nodded, and got to preparing it, putting the soup in a new bowl he had washed.

The past few days had been a failure, the doorknob immovable after Narancia’s outburst like it had been before he had opened it to speak in the first place. It sounded like he was sneaking out through the window to avoid the Android.

“Narancia? I have lunch.” He could hear shuffling noises, Narancia getting up to go to the door. He stopped in front of it, listening for movement from Pannacotta.

“What is it?” Narancia asked after a pause.

“It’s soup. Tomato soup.” Pannacotta said, seeing he was interested. “... If you let me in, you can have it. I heated it up for you.”

There was a scraping noise across the floor, and he heard the boy hop back onto a creaky mattress. “... Fine.” He didn’t sound too happy about being manipulated into a lesson.

Pannacotta let himself in, glancing around at the messy room. He would try to clean it up later. He zeroed in on a chair next to the door. Was that what was stopping him from getting inside before?

He set the soup softly onto the bed in front of Narancia, who grabbed it eagerly and started slurping it up obnoxiously.

“You should probably slow down.” Pannacotta gently reached up and touched a hand, pulling lightly. More a suggestion than anything. His data shows with troubled youth like Narancia, touch is a good way to look human for them.

“No, I heard from my buddy in town that if you eat fast the faster your stomach feels full! It’s science!” He said, almost done with the entire thing already.

“Actually, it’s the opposite.” Pannacotta said, opening a notebook from the floor to a clean page and grabbing a pencil. “Your brain doesn’t process that you've eaten for about 20 minutes on average, so eating slowly is the best way to feel full.”

“Wh- fuck! Whatever,” he said, still ending up eating it fast anyway. His stomach rumbled in protest. He had just eaten, so it couldn’t be that he was still hungry… Pannacotta tilted his head a little to process it and hear the sound.

Narancia didn’t bring it up, and seemed to think he hadn’t heard it, instead putting his bowl to the side and glancing at the notebook. “Is there seriously nothing else we can do? I- this is going to be embarrassing.” He muttered, voice getting low. His face was starting to turn pink.

“Embarrassing?” Pannacotta prompted, blinking and glancing up at the teen as he wrote down some math problems, slowly increasing in difficulty to test Narancia.

“Well- yeah… even the brainless robot is going to figure out I’m an idiot.” He said, still kind of quiet, and staring at a sock on the floor.

Pannacotta’s LED flickered red, before lighting up yellow, quickly running through possible responses. This could end up shutting off work that could get done today if not addressed correctly. He was very obviously sensitive about the subject, and there were a lot of ways this could go wrong if he said the wrong thing.

“I’m sure you’re not stupid. There could be an underlying learning disability human teachers couldn’t pinpoint, that was never diagnosed. That’s part of what I’m here for.”

“You think so?” Narancia asked, looking back at him. He looked hopeful, and he was shifting nervously.

“I’m positive. Humans may have a range of intelligence, but all of them are unlike any other species.” He said. Narancia gaped at him, face filling with something Pannacotta couldn’t understand. “Okay, so let’s do this one first, try to do it without me…”

——-

“Excuse me, Mr. Ghirga?” The knocking on the door became insistent. Pannacotta knew the father was somewhat... distracted at the moment, so he went to the door instead. In his two weeks of being in the household, he knew it was best to leave the man alone when he was doing that.

He opened the door and blinked slowly, LED lighting yellow, trying to understand the events that led up to the sight greeting him. A police officer, with Narancia not far behind in the walkway.

“Ah, this must be for the new program.” The police officer said, nodding to himself without waiting for the answer to the question. “Is the father in?” He didn’t acknowledge Pannacotta further than that.

“I’m here,” Mr. Ghirga called, walking over. He was definitely off today, and those baggies filled with red substance Pannacotta didn’t get a chance to scan were empty. The man was stumbling and acting differently earlier, but seemed to be hiding it well for the officer. “Sorry to be bothering you again. Was he at that damn abandoned house again?” Pannacotta stepped out of the way so they could talk.

“Yeah, ha! He’s quite the snarky one. I thought I’d bring him back for you instead of having to pick him up at the station again.”

“I appreciate it.” He said, smiling a little too wide. Mr. Ghirga took Narancia by the arm and pulled him inside, making him wince and start to squirm.

“You know, those androids have a function to follow him around and keep him out of trouble.”

“Really? I’ll have to do that.” The father said, nodding in thought. “Thing just sits around like a creepy doll when it’s not teaching or cleaning. Oi, did you hear that? Keep him from doing illegal shit,” he looked over to Pannacotta, who nodded. “Good. I appreciate that, officer.”

“Well, have a good day! Try to keep the kid out of trouble, yeah?” The officer turned to walk back to his car.

“I will,” The father said, gritting his teeth. He waited until the vehicle had turned a corner before slamming the door. Narancia jumped in his grip, eyes wide and terrified. “I thought I told you to stop fucking getting arrested!”

“It was an accident, I’m sorry-“ Narancia sputtered quickly, getting cut off by a cry of pain.

Things became unfocused as things escalated. The only thing clear besides the order never to bother Mr. Ghirga, were those wide, teary violet eyes staring at him.

-

Narancia was avoiding Pannacotta again. The door was jammed with the chair again all the time, and when the android had nothing to do he would just wait in the hall to see if he would open the door.

Pannacotta really didn’t have much to do anyway.

His head snapped to attention, hearing the door open a crack. Narancia seemed to be peeking at the bathroom door. He slipped out the door, silent, before glancing around the hallway.

They made eye contact, and the tanned boy’s lip quivered. His eyes shined with something the PH025 was incapable of comprehending. Pannacotta opened his mouth to speak, LED flickering with activity. What would he even say? Narancia turned right back around, and slammed the door behind him.

After a few minutes, Pannacotta was fairly sure he wasn’t coming back out. It was time to wait for an order again.

-

Even after a few more days and food as an exchange to get inside the room, something was very different. Narancia wouldn’t even look at him.

All body language pointed to him being closed off, and Pannacotta couldn’t comprehend why. There were curt, short answers instead of the teasing complaints that had started to spring up about the work.

They had been doing so well before…

He had even gotten them started on math, which seemed to be the hardest for his student. Something bad to be wrong, right?

“Narancia, are you sick? You don’t seem to be focused on your work today.”

Instead of a somber response that matched the atmosphere, the teen’s face screwed up in anger, like it had on the first day.

“Why does it matter? Don’t ask me shit like that!” He said, closing his fist and grasping the blanket tightly.

“Why? Your health is important. You can’t learn if you neglect your body-” He said, eyebrows twitching together into what could be taken as confusion.

“Quit acting like that!” Narancia said, cutting him off. “Stop pretending like you feel things! It’s confusing, and I’d rather you be upfront than- than tricking me!” His voice cracked. “It’s all the programming stuff, right? They give you good responses, so you seem more normal, but there’s nothing there! Right? This is as productive as talking to a jar of pickles- or- or something like that!” He said, face red as he ranted. His eyes shined more than usual, and he was working himself up into being more emotional. His heart rate was elevated.

It was just going to get worse, if something wasn’t done.

“I don’t know what to say. From what I can tell, it’s something that’s being debated quite a bit.” Pannacotta said, after taking a long pause.

“Other people are talking about it?” Narancia asked, looking so surprised at himself that he stopped what he was doing.

“Yes. I can look it up for you, if you want.” Pannacotta said, trying anything placating to calm down the situation, anything to get Narancia away from the tears that seemed close to bursting out.

“... No. let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” He said, settling into something much more resigned. He wiped at his eyes, before looking back at the notebook.

-

The loud commotion and yelling coming upstairs made Pannacotta shift from his spot near the dish rack. Again?

“I pay for this whole goddamn house, I can do what I want with it!” There was a huge crash. “Having a door is a privilege, that I can take away if you’re being a disobedient shit!”

He had to do something useful. Standing still wouldn’t help his superior, or his student. He snuck upstairs, peeking around the corner. It seemed to be going on in Narancia’s room. How did Mr. Ghirga even get in? Walking into the bathroom, Pannacotta gathered things from the medicine cabinet, placing the kit onto the tub, and closed the door.

After a few minutes of yelling, the father stomped off into another part of the house downstairs, and the hurried steps of Narancia moving up to the bathroom to clean himself up meant the confrontation was over. Pannacotta could register the smell now, of the unknown drug the father was taking.

It seemed to be just general disdain and apathy towards his son sober, but something in the drug made him violent. He would analyze it to see what could be causing this chemically, but the father was always close by to the small red baggies.

“Motherfucker broke my fucking door...Cannot believe…” The teen muttered to himself, laying the curse words on thick to himself.

“Narancia.” Pannacotta said quietly, looking at him through the bathroom doorway. He stood up, taking a step closer as the boy jumped in place and then froze.

“You fucking scared me!” The student hissed at him, glaring. “What- what are you doing?” He asked, looking at the small supply of things he gathered. He looked like he wanted to be angry, but the outcome ended up as blatant confusion.

“Come here. I can try to fix you up. I know first aid, but there really isn’t much here. You’re out of gauze.”

“I don’t need any gauze,” he shot back, still looking annoyed. “Fine. It’s not like I have anything else to do right now.” Narancia stepped inside, turning back and locking the door.

“Where are your wounds?” Pannacotta asked, glancing over his body.

“‘Wounds?’ You’re so weird. It’s just a couple bruises. I got a scrape on my leg from a nail, but that’s about it.” He murmured, sitting on the closed toilet seat and looking down at the tiles.

“That’s very dangerous if left untreated. If we didn’t wash it out, you could get tetanus.”

“Titanhus? Huh?” He replied, eyebrows furrowing.

“It’s common with humans when scraped by old metal to contract tetanus. We should disinfect the wound as soon as possible.”

“Really? Shit. I used to go playing in abandoned houses like, all the time.” Narancia said offhandedly, pulling up his pant leg.

Wasn’t he caught just last week by the police for doing that? Pannacotta didn’t comment on it, grabbing a cup from the counter and filling it with water. “Can you hold this? I need something to dip the paper towels in.”

Narancia took it without saying anything, looking inside the water to see how clean the cup had been in the first place. Pannacotta went to wash out the wound, careful when his student shifted uncomfortably, or breath caught in his throat.

After a minute or so of silence, when Pannacotta finished cleaning it, he started putting disinfectant on. Narancia reached to dump the water in the sink.

“You shouldn’t move while I do this, Narancia-“ The Android started, trying to keep him sitting, before the cup slipped out of the teen’s hand, splattering all over Pannacotta's head.

“Oh fuck, oh god!” His student was already panicking, rushing to stand and get a towel.

He wrapped it around Pannacotta’s head and squeezed at the white hair, trying to get the water off. Narancia ripped the towel off to start on his shoulders and clothes, his expression a stark difference than it was from a minute ago. Instead of being closed off, his face looked open and terrified. Why did he seem concerned? He seemed confrontational to him for the past week.

He just looked even more worried when Pannacotta’s LED starts flickering yellow rapidly.

“I broke it, I broke it, the waters gonna leak into him!” He exasperated, rushing to cover his head again. “What was that trick? Put it in rice? He’s too fucking big!”

“Narancia!” Pannacotta said, taking a thin wrist with his hand. “I’m effectively waterproof. I’m just wet.”

“O-oh. Haha, really?” Narancia seemed embarrassed, taking the towel and tossing it aside. It made sense to throw out the evidence, considering he just had a freak out over the care of the android he had been determined not to talk to for the past few days. “Sorry, then…”

“...But thank you for the effort, Narancia.” Pannacotta added.

“Don’t worry about it.” Narancia said, looking back at the tiles. His ears were pink again. “Thanks for helping with my cut or whatever, then.”

Not exactly sure how to respond to the gratitude, Pannacotta nodded instead. “Let’s finish this up.” He said, grabbing one of the bigger bandaids.


	2. Chapter 2

The past week after helping Narancia had gone well. Maybe it was something Pannacotta said, but his student seemed almost comfortable around him again.

He seemed more open to learning, and occasionally opted to make jokes that Pannacotta never understood. If it was a way to distract, it often worked, because then Narancia would go into a long winded explanation about human humor culture. They ended up teaching each other, when there were days such as that.

Other days, he was much more subdued. He didn’t seem bitter at Pannacotta anymore for not running to the rescue, but on the days when there was conflict between him and Mr. Ghirga, he kept mostly to himself. Fugo avoided math on those days in particular. Productivity was often low. Random bruises became easier not to log, with how often they occurred.

Today was not one of those days. Narancia looked a little different, though Pannacotta wasn’t focused on why.

“Hey, uh… I had a question.” Narancia asked, just as they were finishing a lesson.

“Anything. Do you not understand the material?”

“No, it’s not that. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me to the store. I needed to get some things, and I feel like you haven’t even seen outside besides putting out garbage.”

“I'm supposed to accompany you to make sure you don’t get into any trouble, so I will be going. But, I’ve seen plenty of the outside. I was watching out the window when I was driven here.” Pannacotta said easily, as if it blew away the concern.

“... Right.” His student deadpanned, incredulous. “Lets just… go then.”

The walk was interrupted within two minutes by someone calling for Narancia.

“Oi, Sergio! What’s up?” He said, face forcing itself into a smile.

“Dude, what the hell are you wearing? You look like a pirate.”

“It’s called… fashion! Look it up,” Narancia reached up to his face. That’s what was different. He had an orange headband stretched across almost a quarter of his face, covering up an eye.

“I don’t have anything to prove otherwise, but I’m positive you just look like an idiot.” Sergio taunted. “So what, you broke your ankle bracelet?” He nodded in Pannacotta’s direction.

“Nah, he’s like… my new tutor. So I don’t have to go to school anymore,” Narancia’s cheeks were starting to fade pink.

“What’d you call it?” He asked. “I used to have a job repairing androids. It looks like it’s still on factory setting. Wait,” Sergio looked ready to burst into laughter. “Did you even name the damn tin can?”

“Wh- yes I did, Sergio! Don’t be an asshole!” He looked even more flustered.

“Well, what is it, then?” The older teen seemed to be eager to prove Narancia wrong, grinning slyly.

This could go badly. Narancia hadn’t called him by name once, and he is almost certain it was forgotten by now.

Narancia’s face flitted through their interactions, and Pannacotta could almost pick the instant he remembered the name he chose.

There was a long moment of him looking around at signs, and about thirty seconds of deep thought. “It’s- uh… Fugo!”

“You totally just made that up! It took you like three minutes to answer me!” Sergio laughed, clutching his stomach.

“It’s true. He named me the first time we met.” Pannacotta said. Wait, was it Fugo now? He would have to ask to clarify later.

“Alright, alright. I have a date, so I gotta go, but it was fun seein’ ya, Ghirga.” He did a wave, and turned to leave. Narancia nodded and turned his own direction.

He waited until about the end of the street to ask.

“Would you like to register my name as Fugo instead?” Pannacotta questioned.

“I- I kinda forgot I named you. Pannacotta?” He seemed to just recall. “Uh... Fugo can just be your last name.”

“Understood.” Fugo said, as they walked through the door of a grocery store.

“Yo, Maggio,” Narancia waved to the cashier, smirking widely.

“Ah! What’s up, little guy?” He said back jokingly, leaning back in the chair behind the counter.

“The usual, I guess. I’ll come back in a bit with my shit.”

“Alright, whatever, kid.” He let out a breathy laugh, going back to his tablet.

As they walked down the aisle,Narancia spoke up. “You know, they have a couple android workers in here. One is the owner’s personal guy, but I never see the guy ever do anything. Maybe he’s like a manager? He’s tricked the fuck out, honestly.”

“It’s customized, you mean?” Fugo glanced at the prices down the aisle.

“I guess? His eyes are red and black, and his hair is white. I’ve never seen one like him before.”

“You probably have seen it’s model. Androids have settings, Narancia.”

“So you’re like a chameleon?” His student’s eye lit up. “You can change colors? Why didn’t you say anything, that’s so cool!”

“You didn’t ask. Would you like to change my settings?”

“Well I wanna see how it works, at least. Can you change your eyes?”

“I can, as well as hair color.”

“That’s seriously so cool! Make your hair…” Narancia looked around the aisle excitedly, looking for colors to name. “Make it blue!” He probably didn’t care about the shade, so he picked a random one, #00004d, which closely resembled a navy shade.

Narancia clasped his fists together, shaking them in a display of childish eagerness.

“Would you like to keep it blue?”

“You look a little weird, so I guess not. I got used to your white hair, so can you put it back?”

“Understood. What about eye color?”

“Hm… I’d say keep it, but what if you get lost? I want to be able to tell you apart. Just pick a color you like,” Narancia said, looking away to the end of the aisle.

“I have no preference for colors. Normally people choose a color they find soothing-“

“It’s not my eyes! If you don’t ‘like’ any colors, just don’t pick one that’s not neon. That’s my input. I don’t want your pupils glowing in the dark and freaking me out when I have to pee at night. It shouldn’t be- Oh wait, there it is!” He jogged to the end of the aisle, seeing headphones, and leaned down, peeking into his bag.

A color Fugo liked?

“Let me see if I have enough… where is my wallet?” Narancia said out loud, digging into the bottom.

To think of it, what color would resemble Narancia’s in his eye palette?

It seemed to be a mix between #DDA0DD, and #BA55D3. For his own eyes, Fugo settled with #9370DB.

Once he was done confirming, he caught up to Narancia.

“Ah, I don’t have enough. Shit,” Narancia said, talking a small bit louder than he needed to. He zipped up his bag, standing back up. “I’ll have to find something for less- woah! Fugo, we match!” He grinned, taking a step closer to look at the new shade with his uncovered eye.

“Not exactly. They’re both purple, at least.”

“Yeah, so basically the same! You look good,” he said, smirking and walking past him back to the front. On the way, he grabbed a bag of candy.

“Alright, I grabbed my snack for today.”

“Psshh, ok. Chocolate again?” He rested his chin in his hand, smirking as he looked down at Narancia.

“They’re good, Formaggio! Don’t diss a man for wanting chocolates.”

“Fine, fine.” Formaggio started ringing him up, tossing the stray change back at him to catch.

“I only dropped one this time, nice…” Narancia bent to pick up the coin he missed.

“See you next week, kid. Stay safe.”

“I’ll try. Keep the shop windows unbroken, eh?”

“Don’t be a fuckin prick!” Formaggio feigned anger, pointing at him accusingly as they walked to the door. “That was your fault and you know it!”

“Suuuure, Maggio.” Narancia stepped outside, chuckling to himself.

“What happened to the store windows?” Fugo dared to ask, glancing back at the store as they walked down the street. Narancia seemed restlessly exhilarated over something, tapping his hips with his fingers as they walked.

“Oh. I forgot you didn’t know! Me and Formaggio got into a knife fight the first time we met. He went to tackle me and we broke the window.” Narancia said, seeming a bit distracted.

“But you’re so friendly with each other now.”

“Yeah, it just took a bit of getting to know each other. The owner made sure he stopped being an asshole.”

There was casual conversation on the way home. It was a shorter walk, because Narancia seemed like he wanted to get home for once. Eventually, when they got inside, he saw Mr. Ghirga still wasn’t home, smiled, and pounded his way up the stairs.

What had him so excited? Fugo followed him, making more of an effort to be quiet. Narancia didn’t mention what was going on, so maybe if he heard the Android coming, he would stop.

He heard Narancia giggle to himself, and a small ruckus of things being pushed around. It sounded like plastic bags and a few hard things.

Fugo turned into the empty doorway, his LED lighting yellow with the sight. When had he gotten all of this stuff? Headphones, food, snacks, a lighter, a pocket knife, somehow he even got an entire loaf of bread.

“Narancia.” He said, stern voice cutting into the moment.

“Shit.” He muttered, trying to grab some of it and throw it under the bed. The stuff he prioritized was the bigger foods, and the carbs.

“What is all of this? How did you get this without me noticing?” Fugo asked, leaning down and picking up the headphones.

“Listen, I need to eat, okay? I’m not run on by electricity and stuff.” He looked away, pouting, and crossing his arms.

“I thought you liked the people in that store. You had a nickname with the cashier.” Fugo wasn’t sure what to do. This seemed like a regular thing.

“Well, yeah. If you strike up a conversation and seem friendly, they’ll never suspect you. I’m a regular, so I just look around and buy something.” Narancia rolled his eye.

“Why would you buy something if you’re stealing?”

“Well, if you don’t buy anything, and stay in there for awhile, that looks like stealing.” Narancia squirmed under the scolding, changing positions as he spoke.

“They had cameras. You were being very irresponsible, Narancia.”

“Yeah, so I hold something, and put it in my bag when I pretend I’m looking for my wallet. Makes it look normal on video.” Narancia seemed short for breath, cheeks getting red with frustration. His heart was pounding.

“What if you had been caught?”

“They don’t think I’m up to any shit! Also, it doesn’t matter if I’m caught, because I’d rather be caught than starving, you fucking robot!” He seemed overwhelmed, pounding a fist on the floor. “I don’t expect you to get it, just leave it alone! The law doesn’t matter if it’s treating me crappy in the first place!” He burst out, a tear gathering in the corner of his eye. He reached a trembling hand up to his cheek with the uncovered eye, starting to shake.

Fugo blinked at him, not saying anything for a moment. This was…

Narancia seemed to calm down after taking a few breaths, and a long silence.

“Listen. I’ve had to do it a lot, and I’m still hungry all the time. I’m not going to have you lecture me when you don’t even know how it feels. Sometimes humans just have to do stuff that’s ‘bad’ to live.”

They stared at each other.

“Fugo, your head circle has been yellow for a few minutes, and- I don’t know what it means. Are you gonna call the cops on me? If you’re going to, at least tell m-“

“Narancia.” Fugo steeled himself, walking closer to his student’s spot on the floor.

“Y-yeah?”

He leaned down, getting to Narancia’s level. “This is very thought through. Clever even.”

Narancia laughed in surprise. “You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s not smart, it’s criminal activities!”

“It’s illegal, obviously, but the amount of thought put into the interactions of every piece… it’s genius, almost. I underestimated you.”

“So you’re not going to call the police?”

“No, I’m not. I’m under orders to keep you out of trouble, not get you arrested again. The least I can do is keep you safe. You need to eat. Even if I can’t feel it, I know it.”

Narancia pauses, eye squinted in joy, smiling wide. It was unlike anything Fugo had ever seen, or had been prepared for in his programming. It felt like he had done something right.

“Okay. Just don’t go changing your mind.” He laughed, and punched his arm playfully.

“But only what you need. Got it?”

“Whatever, robohead. I bet I could sneak it past you anyway.”

-

Fugo had made the decision to make a routine out of helping Narancia in the aftermath of certain situations. If they had a fight downstairs, and Fugo happened to be on the second floor, he would set up the bathroom for when his student came up, because it was the only time that Mr. Ghirga wouldn’t find out.

This particular instance had fit the criteria, and Narancia still looked surprised to see him. It made sense, after all. After the calculations of the father not seeing Fugo patching his son up, this was only the second time he had been there to check up on him.

“Hey, Fugo.” He said quietly, moving to sit on the closed toilet.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. I just am bleeding a little from when I hit the floor,” he held up an arm. In the elbow, there were a couple splinters, and one small glittering piece of glass that Fugo only saw because of Narancia moving and the way light reflected off of it.

“I can help with that.” He said, looking through the kit and finding a small pair of tweezers.

It took about ten minutes to get everything out of the skin, with Narancia’s squirming and whining. Another five to disinfect and put a few bandages on.

“Hey, Fugo? Can I ask a question?”

“Of course. Everything I have is at your disposal, at all times, Narancia.”

“Kay. It’s just- uh… why are you only here sometimes? It’s not like this is the worst cut I’ve gotten since you’ve been here… it just doesn’t make sense to me.” He said, biting the inside of his lip. “Not that I don’t appreciate it.”

“I have orders in place not to bother Mr. Ghirga. When I’m in a situation where he will not be bothered by me helping, I will be here.” He said, glancing up to make eye contact.

“But if he found out, wouldn’t he be mad about you helping?” His student asked, eyebrow wrenched together in confusion. He still had that headband across his left eye.

“He isn’t bothered by what he doesn’t know, Narancia. Does that make sense?”

“You’re… you’re sneaking?” He asked, eye wide.

“In a sense,” Fugo said slowly, the thought of disobedience on his part being a very uncomfortable idea.

There was a long moment of complete silence, and the only thing that was changing was Narancia’s expression. His lip quivered, and he looked emotional. Suddenly, breaking the standstill, Fugo had arms around him. There was a squeeze, and then Narancia was unlocking the door and rushing out.

Fugo stood up in surprise, staring at the door. He heard quick steps to his students room, and the creaking of a bed. He probably jumped in.

If he left that fast, that meant he probably meant to be alone now.

The android walked to his spot in the hallway where he waited, staring ahead. That sensation was… not meant for androids.

But Narancia let him feel it anyway, in gratitude.

Without a human to soothe with the expression, Fugo found himself smiling.

-

Narancia had been distracted this afternoon, one of his days off from school. Fugo was at his spot in the hallway, unmoving.

His student hummed to himself, walking towards the stairs. Before he even got close to Fugo, he jumped and held a heart to his chest. “Holy shit! Fugo, why are you there so often? You don’t have to just stand there!”

“Actually, this is my spot for standby. When I have no orders to fulfill, I stay here to wait.”

Narancia’s face scrunched up , looking up and down at the spot. “That seems like it sucks.”

“I have no preference.” The android said easily.

“Well, we could get you a better standing place.”

“Wherever I am out of the way is best. If you would like to tell me where you would rather me be, go ahead.”

“Well… I do have one idea. Come with me,” His student said, a mischievous smile spreading on his face.

Fugo followed Narancia back to his room, blinking confusedly when he started digging through his closet and under the bed.

“I know I have enough, and my empty stupid dresser is perfect for this!” Narancia grinned, pulling two chairs over. “We’re gonna build you a pillow fort!”

Fugo took a step forward as he quickly looked up the term. “Narancia. I truly don’t need my own space, as I am fit to be wherever is convenient for you. This is unnecessary,”

“I’m saying it’s totally necessity,” Narancia shot back, unaware of the grammar. “I want a roommate and I also want you to have a little place. I don’t know if you sleep when you’re waiting, but you should do it in a nice place.”

Fugo rolled his eyes, leaning down to help him pick up the sheets. “Fine. Only because you insist and want me in here.”

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Narancia said, standing up fast and wobbling. Despite that, he looked overjoyed.

This seemed worth it to Fugo, too.

-

The arrangement ended up working well. Narancia found a broken lamp in his closet. Fugo in exchange fixed it up and found a lightbulb for him. They set it up in the fort, and Narancia would often slip in children’s books and old romance novels geared towards women. Fugo had no idea where he was getting them, but he read now during his off time.

It was very kind of his student to let him stay, but something was starting to become more obvious.

The constant shifting and mutters. Even asleep, the boy was monkeying around the blankets, and everything he was sleeping with normally ended up on the floor.

Fugo suspected nightmares, but had no proof. There weren't violent night terrors like someone would expect, it was more a subtle gasp in the night, and a slightly elevated heart rate.

Narancia truly didn’t eat or sleep much at all.

Tonight had started out the same, but the squirming ended up with Narancia falling off the bed.

“Ow... It fucking stings,” His student cursed to himself, and got up to leave. Fugo heard him go to the bathroom and mess around with the sink.

Fugo glanced at the page number he was on, and shut the book. He should probably see if he was okay.

When Narancia walked back in, Fugo popped his head out of his fort and started stepping out. “Good morning, Narancia. Can I ask you a question?”

Narancia blinked at him, looking drowsily with his uncovered eye. “Fugo? It’s… not even morning.” He went to sit on his bed.

“Am I allowed to ask you about something?” He asked again, after not getting an answer.

“Sure, Uh…” he rubbed at his visible eye, wiping at it and yawning. “What’s up that you need to ask in the middle of the night?”

“You were already awake.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. What?”

“From what I’ve observed…” How does Fugo put this lightly? “You seem to have trouble sleeping. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help you.”

“My sleeping?” Narancia repeated, starting to look more awake with the question. “It’s okay. I just wake up sometimes.”

“Often. I’ve been logging whenever you’re awake, and it’s above normal. My job is to make sure that you’re as in the best shape you can be, academically and all.”

“I- well…” Narancia obviously had an idea with the look on his face, and his body temperature rising as he spoke. “It’s stupid. And embarrassing. It’s better to just leave it, Fugo.”

“It’s the same as talking to an empty jar, right? Maybe it would be easier to talk to me if you think of me that way.”

Narancia didn’t seem to like the comment, his heart rate shooting up, and him grabbing at his knees. “I don’t think it is anymore. At least… I’m not sure. I don’t want it to be.” He said, swallowing hard.

It was definitely time to change the subject. Narancia was visibly uncomfortable now. “Well, we’re both here for your wellbeing. I certainly won’t judge you.” He was incapable, obviously. But he didn’t comment on it, seeing as his student was starting to look at the morality of their relationship.

“It’s just that my dad didn’t sleep with my mom. She… she would stay with me.” He said, voice sounding choked. “I feel so alone trying to go to sleep now. It’s stupid… I know she’s gone.”

This was not what Fugo was expecting, and it was not something he was equipped to deal with at all. He opened a floodgate and he felt like he would ruin it.

“She’s been gone, too, but… I still think of her all the time. How nice it would be if she were here, how much happier I would be. Maybe I wouldn’t be such a failure if she had been here. She was like, the nicest person who ever existed, and she would see it too. I know it.”

“Narancia! You’re not… you’ve never been a failure.” Fugo gripped the footboard, fist shaking. Is this what the father made Narancia feel like all the time? Like he was human trash? This went deeper than physical bruises. Fugo didn’t understand that until now.

His LED was a solid red. He didn’t notice, but the wood was straining and starting to splinter under his fist.

“It’s just true. I couldn’t even help the one person who I needed. And she’s gone, and now I have to live without her, and it’s my fault!” He said, lip quivering. To stop himself, he bit on it hard, and trembled in place. “...It’s my own fault everything is like this.”

Fugo moved to sit on the bed, looking at him. “I don’t have the entire story, but it sounds like you were a child when she passed. You know, it’s common for people with hard experiences to… blame themselves.”

Narancia sniffled, gulping. “It is?”

“There’s nothing you could have done without being a time traveler.”

“You’re such an asshole.” Narancia said, but it held no venom behind it. He shifted to sit next to the android on the bed.

“If I was there, would it help?” Fugo asked. He took Narancia’s silence for confusion, which it often was. “Me staying in the bed. I’m not your mother, but maybe it would help you sleep.”

“I don’t want to make you do that. You don’t sleep, so you will just sit there for hours.” Narancia was starting to look a little bit better, tears starting to dry.

“Well, during standby, it’s sort of similar. We can go dormant, sort of like… sleep mode, on a phone.”

“You sleep?”

“If that’s what you want to call it, yes.”

“I’ve been making you sit up straight and sleep? God damn it, Fugo, it’s like prying nails with you.” Narancia feigned annoyance, pulling up the blanket from the floor. “Okay. We can try it out. Maybe you’ll realize what being relaxed is.” He said offhandedly. “Okay so- we can try sleeping just in the same bed for now. Me and my mom obviously slept different than we would.”

“I see.” Fugo didn’t have a clue what that meant.

Narancia got him lying down first and tucked in, before getting under the covers himself.

“Thanks for helping me, Fugo.”

“It’s my job.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s still nice to have you around.” Narancia said, yawning and closing his eyes again.

Fugo chose not to go into standby, wanting to wait and see how Narancia did with him in the bed.

It was almost the same, the squirming just as frequent on the old queen sized bed. Eventually his arm slid across the sheets and smacked Fugo in the head, and after he was found, it took about 20 minutes before Narancia was right next to him. His hand found Fugo’s, and squeezed occasionally during REM. His face was squished ridiculously into his shoulder, but he looked peaceful otherwise.

After an hour of his student not moving an inch, Fugo shifted himself into standby, knowing he had helped.

-

Having someone in bed with Narancia helped with the restlessness, so it became routine. Normally, Fugo was already up and in his fort already when Narancia was awake. He could usually maneuver his way out of Narancia’s arms, to do his morning chores. Once the sun came up, he never seemed to have a nightmare.

Today, however, Narancia was practically on top of him, his pillow long abandoned as his head rested on Fugo’s chest instead. Wasn’t that uncomfortable? The sound Narancia was making made it seem like it was hard to breathe. Not hard enough, because he slept on for two hours already in this exact spot.

Fugo was about to set into standby again, closing his eyes, but Narancia’s breath hitched, and he choked awake. The android kept his eyes closed, easily looking like he wasn’t up. Narancia had no idea how easily roused Fugo was. It was a function so he could adapt around his surroundings and easily hear someone calling for him.

Narancia tried to lay still for a moment, but his leg started kicking, and he couldn’t sit still.

“It burns, I can't take it anymore, I can’t do this! Stop!” he muttered miserably to himself, before he brought his hand up and smacked himself. Fugo couldn’t see where, but his student stiffened with pain instantly, shooting out of the bed and running to the door.

There was a loud bang, and Narancia fell back onto the wood floor with a cry. What was going on that had him so desperate? He absolutely just ran into the doorframe.

Fugo sat himself up as his student ran to the bathroom and slammed the door.

Something was wrong. Maybe it was the headband, only one eye able to see with the weird fashion accessory. It could have been throwing off his perception with the doorway, but it also seemed like he was paying attention to something else.

Fugo briskly walked to the bathroom door, hesitating on the doorknob as he grabbed it. Through the door, he could hear Narancia’s thoroughly muffled whimpers.

He shouldn’t intrude in the bathroom without permission, but his student appreciated it when he was already there, right?

“Stop, just stop pounding my head,” Narancia begged to no one.

This sounded like a mental break, mostly, but that couldn’t have been it. He had to know. He couldn’t ignore this, just wait and pretend later that he hadn’t seen it.

The metal fatigued under his hand, it bending to an imprint of his hand. He turned the doorknob, and pushed it open.

He only saw a flash of deep purple before there was an attempt to shove him out of the bathroom. “Get out, Fugo! What are you doing?!”

“Narancia…” Fugo easily held the door open, not the slightest pushed back by his student’s weak body. “Your eye.”

It was swollen shut almost, the eyelid tripled it’s normal size, and the eye underneath bloodshot. At the edge of his eye, pus had gathered. It was clearly very severe, very infected, cellulitis in the eye.

“Yeah, so?! Get the hell out!” He screamed, trying to punch him in the head. “It’s my problem!”

Fugo pushed himself in, closing the door behind him. “We have to do something about this. This is in serious condition, and- I’m not leaving.” He said, steeling himself.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Fugo, can you just leave already? I get you don’t know the entirety of social situations, but I’m pretty sure I’m being damn clear about this!”

“It’s infected. Why were you hiding this injury? I could have helped way earlier!” Fugo said, throwing a hand out. He didn’t understand Narancia at all.

“I just wanted it to go away! I didn’t want to make it real by looking at it and talking about it! If I did-“ Narancia took a shaky breath. “If it was real, then I would die. Just like mom.”

Fugo shut his mouth. He wouldn’t understand Narancia letting something get infected, but he knew that as an android, he was missing something fundamentally about maternal relationships. “Let me help. It doesn’t have to be that way. You’re killing yourself by hiding it like this.”

Narancia raised a hand to his eye, lifting the eyelid to try and see out of it. He winced, dropping his hand quickly. “I know you’re right, and I knew it was stupid. I just wanted another day where I could pretend that I didn’t have the same thing that killed her.”

“So you’ll let me help?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for… lashing out at you. You’re like my best friend, Fugo. You know shit about me no one knows about. You’re… the only person who cares about me still on this earth.”

“I’m sorry about your mother, Narancia. But let’s try to get rid of this infection. You’re in pain for no reason.”

“Thanks, Fugo.” He said, grabbing and squeezing Pannacotta’s hand before going to sit on his usual spot on the tub’s edge.

“Anything to help you, Narancia.” He said, turning to grab the kit from the cabinet. Fugo would have to leave after this to buy medication, but all this extra time spent was worth it to have Narancia’s appreciation.

-

Narancia’s eye was doing much better, considering the horrific circumstances. Fugo had just gotten back from purchasing the second round of antibiotics he would have to take.

He had been so good about taking what medication he needed, and letting Fugo do what was necessary, even if it hurt. It was probably because he had seen what had happened to someone else with the infection, and knew how serious it was.

As Fugo stepped inside of the house, he heard Narancia messing around in the kitchen. He was probably taking the leftover pasta Fugo had made for him while Mr. Ghirga was asleep.

“How are you feeling?” Fugo asked, putting the medication on the counter.

“I still feel way better from last week. It itches a lot more now than it hurts, which sucks, but I’m glad it doesn’t hurt.”

“A cold rag would probably help with that sensation. We can try that later.”

“Thanks, Fugo.” Narancia grinned at him, Fugo’s chest yet again filling with something that didn’t belong at the sight. There was a sound of a doorknob being jumbled around angrily at the front door, and Narancia’s face fell.

“Narancia!” Mr. Ghirga slammed the door open, seeing him in the kitchen and stomping. “What the hell is with the card being empty? You’re buying medicine with my money!”

Narancia’s eyes widened, glancing towards Fugo. “I-I needed it!” He weakly protested. “So yeah, I got the medicine.” It would be easier to give Fugo away, since he was easily replaceable, but there was no shift of blame.

“I can’t believe how ungrateful you are,” Mr. Ghirga growled, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close with gritted teeth. “Without me you would be dead by now, and you’re using our limited supply of cash anyway?”

Wasn’t the limited supply of money only used on drugs anyway? One that he seemed to already be using today. The man’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head, and the smell of the drug was strong. This is the most out of it the father had ever been.

“I… I was gonna die. Like mom. I needed the medicine, and you can’t make me feel bad for needing it.” Narancia sputtered.

“Who gives a damn about your mother!” The man screamed, throwing him to the floor and stomping into the living room. “She’s not even here, so why the fuck does she still have to affect you? She left us behind!” His voice was high, and he grabbed a closed vase, and threw it to the ground. It shattered, a puff of ash spreading around the floor around it.

Narancia screamed at the top of his lungs for his mother, scrambling into the living room to push them back together into one pile. It was the loudest thing Fugo had ever heard, and suddenly he could think of nothing but the sound.

Fugo started to follow them into the room, as his father dragged him back by the collar of the shirt and threw him into the wall. Why wasn’t he fighting? Narancia was quick to anger. Why wasn’t he furious?

“Shut up!” He bellowed, kicking a shard of the urn aside. “Who the hell told you to move around?! Don’t move!” Mr. Ghirga yelled at Fugo, who stilled instantly in the doorway.

“This is what you think is worth my hard earned money?!” Mr. Ghirga jabbed a thumb into Narancia’s healing eye, who wrenched away in pain.

Fugo slid into unfocused white noise as the scene unfolded in front of him. He couldn’t hear anymore, he could only watch.

The father grabbed Narancia by the neck, lifting him up the wall. There was kicking and grabbing, as his cheeks slowly faded from pink, to red, to finally a purple.

This had to stop. Narancia didn’t deserve this treatment. Why couldn’t Fugo just move? Why couldn’t he just help, and not stand useless? He truly was just an empty jar. He had been misleading Narancia to think that someone cared about him, but here Fugo was, staring at them as Mr. Ghirga choked him out.

Narancia needed more than a hollow jar. He needed a person.

As his student stopped struggling, the father let up and dropped him to the floor. His head bounced off the wood, and he didn’t move.

Would Fugo never see him smile again? Would Narancia never get an education, would he never be happy? Would it end like this? Was he gone forever?

The noise in Fugo’s ears shattered, something clicked within himself, and suddenly he was leaping at the father with a shriek.

Mr. Ghirga was completely caught off guard, them both falling to the floor with a tumble. “I hate you!” Fugo screamed in his face. “All you ever did was continually damage your son, and make me watch! You have never deserved such a sweet, kind person! He **needed** you!” Fugo raised a fist, punching the man in the forehead with immense force.

Things faded again, but in a blissful way, as the world became a dark red around him, with fun pink splatters coming in and finally making it brilliant art. He ignored the warning signs in his system of his hand continually breaking under the pressure, as he pounded the man in the head over, and over.

He could describe a feeling somehow, for the first time in his life. It was catharsis. There was something about the monotonous cycle, the repetitive action, that was satisfying.

“Panna… what did you…” The entire world’s attention was now on his sweet student, who was losing the purple from his face, and was starting to sit up.

“Narancia,” Fugo breathed out, relief washing over him. It was amazing to feel so freely. Was this being human? Is that what he was now? “No, wait. Don’t look,” he said, looking down at the mess. No. He wasn’t human. This was still different from their normal.

“What even… happened, Fugo?” He asked, holding the wall to stand up.

Fugo didn’t answer, also rising to his feet. His right hand was ravaged, the entire outer layer shattered, and the more complex circuitry either stuck in Mr.Ghirga’s brain matter or, in two fingers instance, hanging limply on wires, brushing against his wrist.

“We need to get out of here,” Fugo started. “Wait- I do. Will you come with me?”

“I’d follow you anywhere, you idiot.” He shot back, still staring at the scene. “But- seriously, can you explain this at least? Why did you mess him up so bad?” His voice was shaky.

“He… he hurt you. I thought about what he did to you, and then I couldn’t think about anything else.” Fugo stepped closer, but thought better of it and went to the kitchen to wipe the blood and brain off of him.

After a long pause, “Where are we going to go?” Narancia asked, following him.

“I’ll pack up what we need, and it doesn’t matter where we go. I won’t let anything else happen to you.” Fugo raised his left hand, the clean one, and grabbed Narancia’s hand. “But I’ll come up with a good plan momentarily.” He would also try to gather some of that dust that made Narancia so upset earlier.

“I don’t doubt it,” Narancia laughed. He seemed to be a little bit in shock, and trying to ignore the living room.

Now thinking about it, Pannacotta was excited for their future. It would be rough, but the worst of it was over with. The future was bright, if he chose it to be. Fugo would make sure he got his first opportunity at life, and Narancia that got his second chance.

**Author's Note:**

> If there's any errors or a line that doesn't make sense, feel free to tell me!


End file.
